Free
by whenindoubtgowithsocks
Summary: 11 soldiers and a duty to save mankind. (Completely unrelated to the main plot of Shingeki no Kyojin)


**Two years ago**

**Kate**

When I was 8, whenever my mom would send me to get firewood or make me pick berries, I always used to go to the edge of the rocky cliff that overlooked the whole town. Past the uneven ground behind our house, stood a steep hill that was really hard to climb, and past that, beyond the tall trees of the forest, came a cliff that acted as the summit of Trost. I would tiptoe as high as I could just to sneak a little peak of the outside world. I always hoped to see beyond the great Wall Rose, but I never did. The walls were just too big, too big for me to see past, too big for anyone. What people usually don't know about walls, is that they are built for two reasons: to keep things out, or to keep them in. I'm fourteen, and until now, I still wonder which it is.

"This is so boring." The girl sitting beside me, one of my best friends, Hanna complained while flipping her shoulder length blonde hair over her shoulders. I rolled my eyes, _everything_ was boring for her. "We all know why the walls were built." She grumbled

"Do we really?" My head snapped to the girl sitting on my left side, Alexandra Massarotti. Her gaze was far from us. Her icy blue eyes were pierced to the outside of the window, where the Wall stood. As far as I know, Alex only talked if it was necessary, and replying to Hanna's stupid comment was not something I expected her to do.

"What do you mean?" Hanna's eyebrows scrunched in confusion "The walls were built to keep those filthy Titans out."

_Filthy?_ Has Hanna even seen a real Titan before? The only people I know who actually had a face-to-face encounter with the Titans are the Recon Corps. They left with hundreds and came back with troops lesser than forty. Most of the surviving soldiers were covered in bandages that looked like they haven't been replaced for a week but in reality, they actually just put them on. They suffered from mere abrasions to extreme avulsions. Maybe that's how the people knew how scary the Titans are, because even the strongest of the strongest and the bravest of the bravest cannot escape their terror.

She looked back at us, making me have a full view of her elegant features. Her long raven hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and her pale skin perfectly contrasted that of her dark hair. Her pink bow lips twitched and formed a barely noticeable frown "Don't you ever wonder why the Titans only attack humans? They don't care for animals, but they hunger for human flesh. They don't need nourishment, so why do they eat?" She asked, her usual quiet behaviour gone and was replaced by extreme curiosity. I used to think that whenever Alexandra Massarotti talked, the whole world would stop just to listen to her. Something happens when she speaks, I don't know what, but there's something. Like right now, she was sitting right beside the window, so the sunlight hit her face perfectly. She looked like an angel. I won't be surprised if the world did stop for her.

"Are you seriously—" Hanna started

"You three" The sound of the teacher's voice made me jump in surprise "are you going to keep talking because I would be willing to give the stage to you." The teacher said sternly. The whole class looked back at us and I felt a flush of embarrassment come over me. "Sorry, Miss." The three of us grumbled

"So, can anybody tell me which wall was built first?" The teacher's voice faded into the background and for a second, the world was silent. For me anyway. A lot of people have already said that the military was full of bullshit. _We give them money and what do they repay us with? Tons and tons of corpses, _they said. And sometimes, I agree with them. The Military Police and the Garrison are full of shitheads, dicks and fucktards. They talk big yet, I'm sure, if they ever saw a Titan, they would flee and never look back. But the Recon Corps is different, I'm sure of it. They're the ones who volunteer to fight for mankind; they give their lives for the service of the people. They're strong, loyal and brave. And I believe that someday, they **will** free us.

I felt someone tap my shoulder from behind. I looked back to see Sarah Farrow, also one of my best friends, looking really nervous. "Do you hear that?" Her hand was shaking and some the hairs sticking out of her ponytail were sticking to the sweat on her forehead. Her big brown eyes widened and she covered her mouth to prevent people from hearing her silent yelp "There it is again!"

I heard a light thump that probably came from outside of the building, but I shrugged it off thinking it was nothing "I don't hear anything, Sarah. Maybe you're just imagining things." But I knew she wasn't. Sarah has extremely sharp senses which make her really good at fast paced sports like basketball and volleyball. Despite her amazing ability to do well in every field in sports, she was very, very paranoid. Some people even call her "The girl who cried wolf", which was a folktale from years ago I think.

Her eyes sharpened and she gripped my shoulders tightly "You know I'm not."

Right after she said that, a loud crash was heard from outside the school building and immediately after that a sharp cry filled the room. I looked back to my classmate, I think her name was Fiona, collapsing to the floor. The teacher frantically rushed to her, catching her when she was about to fall. "What's wrong dear?" she asked while wiping the cold sweat from Fiona's forehead.

Her voice was shaking and barely audible "The wall..."

The students rushed to the nearest window and not a second after that loud gasps and screams were heard from the classroom and out. I didn't move from where I was so when I saw Hanna near the window gaping and speechless, I got nervous. Hanna always had something to say, but right now, she stood there stiffer than a scared cat. "Hanna!" I called, but she didn't look back "Hanna! What's going on?!" Still no answer

Sarah stood in front of me; she gripped her hair so tight that it fell off from the ponytail "I knew it." She whispered, shaking. "I knew it."

"Sarah, what the hell is happening?" I screamed. I couldn't move. My legs felt heavy and it seemed to be glued to the floor.

"Titans." Alex breathed "The titans are coming" she whispered, stunned. But immediately after, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the door "We have to get out of here."

Alex has been my friend ever since we were toddlers. She lived in this medium-sized cottage just in front of our house with her mother and elder sister. I've never known her father, hell, I've never even seen him before. I think he's part of the military like my dad because my mom used to say he wasn't home a lot. As far as I know, Alex's father left them when she was nine, leaving her mother and her then, fifteen year old sister to fend for themselves. Weird fact, she looked nothing like her sister. I mean, her sister's pretty and all but unlike Alex and her mom, she didn't have black hair and blue eyes, she had dark brown and green. Maybe her father looked like that blue eyes; she had dark brown and green. Maybe her father looked like that.

"Wait!" I moved my head to where Hanna was still standing stiff "Hanna! Let's go!"

Hanna finally acknowledged me and started sprinting. I looked back to see Alex trying to get a hysterical Sarah back on her feet "Sarah, we have to go. We have to go **now**." She said

But it was too late, suddenly the room was dark. I heard Fiona scream again and this time, we all got why. A titan was standing in front of my classroom's window, only his eye being seen. The titan raised his hand, his _skinless_ hand, and pushed it right through the glass window. He started patting the floor, probably to search for human prey. "Get to the corners, fast!" The teacher shouted

The students ran frantically to the farthest corners of the room while Fiona was still by the window, too stunned to move. "Fiona, we need to get you out of here." The teacher said, out of breath

"Alex!" Sarah shouted. My eyes snapped to the beautiful raven-haired girl running towards Fiona and our teacher. She grabbed Fiona's arm, desperately trying to get her up "Come on, Fiona!" But she didn't budge. The teacher was now in the corner with a bunch of other students, escorting them out of the building. "Alex, watch out!" Sarah screamed again

The titan's hand hovered over Alex and Fiona, I saw Alex's eyes widen as it began to go down. By reflex, she jumped out of the way, leaving Fiona to be captured by the gigantic monster. I saw her immediately regret her decision as she tried to claw the titan to get Fiona back. But again, all her efforts were wasted. Fiona was now outside; she was in the hands to the titan who was now wearing a maniacal smile. The titan tightened his grip on her which made Fiona scream in agony "Please! No!" Right after, her blood splattered all over and some even landed on Alex's face who now stood stunned at the event that happened right in front of her. "Alex!" I called loud enough for everyone in Trost to hear

Sarah is fast. I knew it before but this was different. She ran straight to Alex and grabbed her wrist just before the titan got a hold of her. Something in Alex's mind seemed to have snapped because I saw her squirm from Sarah grip. "I can run." She said

I grabbed Hanna and ran for the door. I can't believe it. First Wall Maria and now, Wall Rose. What the hell is happening?! Five years ago, Wall Maria was invaded by Titans. Hundreds of thousands died. Wall Maria was considered contaminated, unable to be lived in by humans. And right now, I really cannot believe that it's happening to us.

"Alex" I said as we got out. Already, approximately 40 Titans were in Trost. People were screaming, buildings were burning, and everyone had seemed to have lost hope. Then I thought of home. _Home. _My little brother is still in our house! "Alex we have to go to my house, Jimmy..." I panicked "Jimmy is still there!" My mother died a year ago, when Jimmy was six. He had tuberculosis and we just couldn't afford the medication. So she died and left me and my little brother behind. As for my dad, well, he died before Jimmy was even born. He was part of the Recon Corps and I guess you can figure out the rest.

Alex seemed to be sceptical at first, but I'm sure she remembered that my house was just across from hers and that her own family was in danger because she sighed and said, "Okay," she turned to Sarah and Hanna "You guys **have **to go to the gates. If we're not there in an hour, leave. Got it?" I've got to admit, in all the years I've been friends with Alexandra Massarotti, I've never heard her say so much. She always gave half-hearted responses to _everything._ A quick "yes" or a slight shake and nod of the head were the best you could get out of her. She seemed to switch places with Hanna, who seemed to have lost her sense of speech and now stared blankly at...nothing.

Sarah nodded. As afraid as she is, she still holds her instinct to survive. After all, she's an orphan. The closest she got to anything about her parents was the woven bracelet she had ever since she was a baby. Sarah turned her head to look at Hanna "Let's go." She said pulling on her arm

And just like that, they were gone. Sarah ran as fast as she could while Hanna struggled to keep up. The gates were still a mile away; they still have a long way to go.

**Author's Note: I hope you guys liked this chapter! The idea of this whole story just randomly appeared while I was in the middle of English class last week. It bugged me SO much; I just HAD to write it. So if you guys like this and want me to continue, please don't hesitate to review. Criticism is very welcome **


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